When moving parts or equipment in an industrial facility, carts designed to follow a network of track sections are often used. The track sections usually have a circular cross section and are installed in sections. A roller assembly includes a wheel with a concave circumferential surface for engaging and rolling on a portion of the track sections, facilitating movement of the load.
Typically the track sections are embedded in a facility floor and grouted in place. Removal or a typical system requires excavation of the entrenched system.
An alternate system provides track sections supported by a base having a flat mounting surface rigidly held to a facility floor with fasteners and grouted into a trough in the floor. A profile in the base accepts the track section and two separate and opposing clamps are placed on either side of the track section, between the track section and an outer wall of the base, to center the track and hold it in place. A portion of each clamp having an engagement profile is inserted into the base to a variable depth of penetration and held in place by a corresponding engagement profile on the base. The two opposing clamps exert opposite forces that vary with the insertion depth and must be carefully adjusted during installation to properly position the track.
In order to remove the track section, the two clamps are cut generally parallel to the length of track and removed, freeing the section of track for removal. A replacement track segment is placed in the base and two new clamps installed to hold the track in place, requiring the same careful adjustment
Known bases typically have a flat bottom mounting surface to rest on a substantially flat portion of the floor or the trough in the floor. For some applications, specifically for carts used to carry very large loads, the flat mounting surface does not provided adequate contact surface to distribute the weight of the load over a sufficiently large area. As a result, the base may deform, the floor material, usually concrete, may crack, or both, leading to an expensive and time consuming repair.
Accordingly, a need exists for a track assembly overcoming the drawbacks of the current systems.